Young Audiences Arts for Learning Connecticut has just named theater director Dexter J. Singleton as its 2010 Young Audiences of Connecticut Artist of the Year! Singleton is Executive Director of Collective Consciousness Theatre, coming to Tamworth in October to perform Aaron Jafferis‘s hip-hop play Shakespeare: The Remix at the K. A. Brett School as the kickoff to Jafferis’s artist residency at Brett in November. The award is given “in recognition of the work CCT has done with youth and families in schools and communities across Connecticut.” Congratulations, Dexter!

ACT! for Kids is excited to bring storyteller Simon Brooks back to Tamworth. Brooks received rave reviews from folks of all ages after his visit last spring, and so ACT! for Kids is bringing him back on April Fools’ Day to enthrall both young and old once more. Brooks will be telling stories for K-4^th graders at the K. A. Brett School in Tamworth at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 1. Homeschoolers are welcome—please call the school at 603-323-7271 to let them know you’re coming. At 7:00 on Thursday evening, at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, Brooks will tell stories for kids ages 8 and up, grownups, and mature younger listeners.

Brooks, who lives in Orford, NH, has been spinning yarns and telling tales for nearly two decades, first in his native England and more recently throughout New England. Combining his passion for children’s literature—he is also a children’s librarian, as well as a photographer, writer and poet—and folklore, Brooks creates programs to suit all ages. His repertoire comes mainly from European folk and fairy tales, but also includes stories from South American, Africa, China and Japan as well as many other countries and cultures. “I find tales that are not often told, or when they are, I put my own stamp on them,” Brooks says. “I only tell tales that I love, whose voice comes to me, becoming alive in my mind, and that helps bring the story to life in the minds of those who listen.”

Brooks performs tales with energy and wit. Telling folktales, myths and legends from all over the world, he brings vividly to life characters like Ananzi the Spider, the trickster Raven, Merlin and Dionysus. From this world of stories Brooks captivates his audience with unique voices to animate characters and with expressive body language that brings the stories to life. Watch Brooks tell the story “One Wish,” below, or scroll down to hear the story “The Lonely Boatman.”

ACT! for Kids is made possible by the Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work at reyfoundation.org.

On Saturday, March 27, ACT! for Kids is excited to offer a workshop in Chicken Art with artists and chicken aficionados Lianne Prentice and Nicole Maher-Whiteside, for kids ages 8 & up. The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at The Community School in South Tamworth, NH. Participants will create feathers and other decoration in a variety of media for a giant chicken sculpture to be displayed at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, and depending on age and interest may also work on chicken block prints, paintings and more.

Lianne Prentice is a teacher of middle and high school English, history and science for 22 years, who currently teaches at The Community School. She grew up in Sandwich, but married a Tamworth boy and moved across the town line. She’s been oil painting for a mere 16 months and loving it; her chicken painting was a hot item at last summer’s ACT Art Show, and may one day be known as representational of the early days of the Chicken Art Movement in Tamworth. She is the proud parent not only of two children, but also of ten gorgeous hens: Butter, Sasha, Queenie, Hawk, Betty, Little Red, Nut Brown, Orlanda, Tom and Biddy.

Nicole Maher-Whiteside got her first chicken in 1970, a Rhode Island Red named Irma. Irma spent many hours perched on Nicole’s shoulder hiking along the Bearcamp River in South Tamworth. Irma was a wonderful companion, who generously gave Nicole an egg a day. Nicole’s admiration for chickens has continued to grow since those long ago years, and she has shared her life with many chickens since Irma. Currently she is working on a series of chicken paintings in which she is trying to capture the generous spirit of chickenhood, and she looks forward to a day of chicken art with other chickenistas.

The cost for this workshop is $3. To register, send an email to act@artstamworth.org or call 603-323-8104.

ACT! for Kids is made possible by The Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work here. Upcoming ACT! for Kids programs include storyteller Simon Brooks, back by popular demand on April 1, and Draw the Constellations to Learn Them (as H. A. Rey did to teach them), with Nat Scrimshaw in June.

"Black Rock", open accordion book by Jay Rancourt

On Saturday, February 6, ACT! for Kids presents a Bookmaking Workshop with Jay Rancourt, for kids ages 9 & up. The workshop runs from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. (please note this is a change from the originally scheduled time) at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth. Books are defined here as content held together under protective, decorative covers. Within this basic definition, the possibilities are endless. Book arts encompass many different disciplines—painting, sculpture, writing, sewing, printing, and structural engineering all come into play. The process of making a book begins in the imagination. A memory, an event, a visual image, or a dream becomes the kernel of an idea. Through a period of extended play and exploration, the idea grows into a book.

Local artist and librarian extraordinaire Jay Rancourt has been making books for ten years, and teaches classes in this and other media. She exhibits her artist’s books, paintings, prints and silk paintings locally and in Portland, ME.

The cost for this workshop is $3. Any questions, call Jay Rancourt at the Cook Library, 323-8510. To register, send an email to act@artstamworth.org or call 603-323-8104. Sign up early: enrollment is limited.

ACT! for Kids is made possible by The Rey Foundation. Upcoming ACT! for Kids programs include Chicken Art on Saturday, March 13, and storyteller Simon Brooks, back by popular demand, on April 1. Information about future ACT! for Kids workshops can be found here.

Posted a day early so you get a chance to watch it before Santa comes… Talk about great special effects!

Anyone who grew-up in the Delaware Valley in the 1950s and early 1960s, will remember this classic. It just wasn’t Christmas, until you saw it. Long before there was Charlie Brown’s Christmas or Rudolph, there was this. In fact, that’s all we had! Shown in Philadelphia, by Bell Telephone, it features the Mabel Beaton Marionettes and also included The Nativity. It was aired all over the US by AT&T, but had its longest run in Philadelphia.

The Swingle Singers version uses my favorite illustrations…

Photo: M. Hakola Photography

ACT! for Kids will present a children’s workshop in Movement Exploration and Modern Dance, led by renowned teacher Jeanne Limmer, on Saturday, January 16 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at the Tamworth Town House in Tamworth, NH. Movement and rhythm are part of our everyday world and children naturally want to move and explore. In this workshop Limmer will create a safe space in which these explorations can happen, and offer a range of movements that build a sense of potential and possibility in the children. No experience is necessary; all kids need are bare feet and comfortable clothing in which they can easily move.

Jeanne Limmer is a dancer, a choreographer, the founder—26 years ago—and director of the Jeanne Limmer Dance Center, a Roster Artist with the NH State Council on the Arts for Arts in Education, and especially a beloved teacher of dance—from classical and modern to jazz and tap—to students of all ages from preschoolers through adults. In recent years Limmer has traveled the state bringing movement exploration in the classroom, using movement as an exciting tool for exploring academics from science to math, environmental studies to geography, literacy to global citizenship. Children K-12 have learned to rely on each other while physically bringing these studies to life. Limmer is also one of the dancers participating in Extending the Dance Map, a project funded by the Dana foundation, to recruit and train dancers to become teaching artists in the North Country.

Movement Exploration and Modern Dance is geared toward kids ages seven to 10, and costs $5.00 per child. Space is limited: please email act@artstamworth.org or call 603-323-8104 to pre-register.

ACT! for Kids is made possible by the Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work at www.reyfoundation.org. Upcoming children’s programs include a bookmaking workshop with Jay Rancourt in February and a Chicken Art workshop with Lianne Prentice and Nicole Maher-Whiteside in March. Information about future ACT! for Kids workshops can be found here.

Hi everyone,

As you contemplate the end of the tax year and make last minute tax-deductible donations, please consider donating to Arts Council of Tamworth. ACT has low overhead, so your contributions go directly toward presenting and promoting diverse, exciting performances in Tamworth, and to funding high-quality creative experiences for area youth. We look toward the next performance season with excitement as we plan to present a couple of old favorites, bring new talent to the area, and expand our jazz and classical offerings. We are also excited to bring more of our work with kids directly into the school system through artist residencies and in-school performances. We are grateful for the support of our community in the work we do, and love to hear from you. You can donate in any amount here through PayPal (you do not need a PayPal account), or send a check to Box 1, Tamworth, NH  03886.

Another way to support ACT is to give tickets or gift certificates as the best of all stocking stuffers, the gift of memorable experiences that fill the heart but not the house. Board president Annie Riecken will be at the Tamworth Holiday Farmers’ Market at the K. A. Brett School this Saturday, December 19, from 10:00 to 2:00 to sell you real live tickets, or you can buy tickets online here and ask that they be held at the door in the name of the recipient. Click on the image below to download a PDF listing of the remainder of the performance season.

Thanks so much for all your support throughout the year, and blessings upon your New Year.

Juno, for ACT

ACT! for KIDS is delighted to offer a bread dough ornament workshop for kids ages 5 & up with master baker Peg Loughran, Saturday, December 5, from 10:00 to 12:00 at Sunnyfield Brick Oven Bakery in Wonalancet, NH.  Kids will create painted, decorated bread dough ornaments to hang on a tree or otherwise display. Depending on the age of the participant, kids may create their own bread dough ornaments to take home and decorate, or may paint and decorate pre-made ornaments. Participants will also get to see ornaments being baked in the big brick oven.

Instructor Peg Loughran is a longtime Tamworth resident, the proprietor of Sunnyfield Brick Oven Bakery, and the mother of two young children.

The materials fee for this workshop is $5. There is no workshop fee, but donations are welcome. Space is limited: please pre-register by emailing act@artstamworth.org or calling 603-323-8104. For directions to Sunnyfield Bakery click here. ACT! for KIDS is made possible by the Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work at www.reyfoundation.org.

Upcoming ACT! for KIDS programs include a Modern Dance Workshop with Jeanne Limmer on January 16 and a Book-making Workshop with Jay Rancourt on February 6.

ACT! for KIDS presents a Felt Animal Workshop with instructor Theresa Beckett, Saturday, November 14, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth, NH. Needle felting uses felting needles to form wool rovings (wool that hasn’t been spun into yarn) into designs and three-dimensional shapes.

Theresa Beckett has been a visual artist for many years. She learned needle felting at a Waldorf School workshop, and fell in love with it. She loves to see the animals’ personalities emerge as she works with the wool. Come see what personality your animal has!

Because of the sharpness of the needles, this workshop is for ages 9 & up only. A materials cost of $6 per student covers the cost of one needle felting kit. Additional wool to take home may be purchased separately There is no workshop fee, but donations are welcome. Space is limited: please preregister by emailing act@artstamworth.org or calling 603-323-8104.

ACT! for KIDS is made possible by the Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work at www.reyfoundation.org.

Upcoming ACT! for KIDS programs include a Bread Dough Ornament workshop in December and a Modern Dance workshop in January.

Tamworth’s first multigenerational Sketch and Poem Crawl will take place rain or shine…though it sure looks like rain. We will have many dry places for people to work, and will gather for something warm to drink at the end. Or bring an umbrella if you want to mooch around outdoors!